Occupation: president and CEO of Knots of Fun LLC; the company sells kits to organizations from which adults and children of all abilities can make dog toys

Years in business: 1

Town in which you reside: Framingham

Family: husband Mark, dog Leo

Hobbies: gardening, yoga, cooking

Tell us how you ended up in this line of work.

I pushed the restart button at age 52.

I had an idea about combining a dog toy project with fundraising and made an exploratory phone call to the Perkins School for the Blind. Their immediate interest was extremely encouraging and led me to believe that other schools and organizations might find this project as interesting as Perkins did. My idea began as a creative way to fundraise, which led me to think about other ways in which I could add products to my business.

What are two memories from your career that stick with you the most?

The first has been seeing the students’ enthusiasm about making the toys and their successful sale of the toys.

The second was the pride I felt the first time I sold a Knots of Fun kit.

What do you most like and least like about your work?

I love the independence I have and the creativity I feel when coming up with new toys. I particularly enjoy seeing the happy dogs that receive my toys and the owners who tell me that their dogs love to play with Knots of Fun.

There is not one thing I don’t love about my job.

What makes your business unusual?

Knots of Fun provides a project that can be used in a variety of settings — anywhere from a retail store to a school or organization that may want to create the toys to sell for fundraising. Students are challenged when making the toys and they learn life skills necessary to create something for sale. I’ve worked with groups ranging from blind students to Girl Scouts to the elderly, all of whom have been challenged in a variety of ways.

What advice do you have for someone who wants to open a business?

If you are passionate about an idea and can visualize what it might look like, come up with a strategy that works for you.